Category: Schoolwide News

Research and policy strengths help eliminate barriers to oral health for the most vulnerable

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 7, 2017 – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry Dean and Associate Vice President for Health Sciences, David C. Sarrett, D.M.D., M.S., has named Tegwyn H. Brickhouse, D.D.S., Ph.D., interim chair of the Department of Oral Health Promotion and Community Outreach.

A member of the school’s faculty since 2003, Brickhouse is the Director of the Oral Health Services Research Core, part of the Philips Institute for Oral Health. She also leads the Oral Health in Childhood and Adolescence Core that is part of the university’s interdisciplinary iCubed initiative. This Core works to improve oral health in childhood and adolescence by identifying and eliminating barriers to the prevention and treatment of tooth decay in the Richmond area.

As interim Chair of the Department of Oral Health Promotion and Community Outreach, Brickhouse leads research, policy, and health provider training efforts to improve oral health outcomes, to improve equity in patient care, and to align the dental profession with U.S. health care advancements.

She earned her dental degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry and her pediatric dentistry specialty training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and completed a Dental Public Health residency at the North Carolina Oral Health Section in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Brickhouse specializes in research related to oral health disparities in vulnerable populations. Her most recent work examines the impact of Medicaid’s dental program reform on provider participation and behavior in addition to children’s utilization and cost. She has been awarded numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health and over $3.2 million dollars in Health Resources and Services Administration training grants which support the development of interprofessional and social behavioral curriculum for dental students and residents. Her research explores oral health disparities in vulnerable communities and bridging new partnerships to improve access to care.

Brickhouse applies a wealth of academic, clinical, research, and policy experience in pediatric dentistry and population oral health to her work at the VCU School of Dentistry. She also serves as children’s oral health policy expert at the community, state, and national levels.

About VCU and VCU Health

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 31,000 students in 225 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Seventy-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU’s 13 schools and one college. The VCU Health brand represents the health sciences schools of VCU, the VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Health System, which comprises VCU Medical Center (the only academic medical center and Level I trauma center in the region), Community Memorial Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, MCV Physicians and Virginia Premier Health Plan. For more, please visit www.vcu.edu and vcuhealth.org. For more about the VCU School of Dentistry, please visit www.dentistry.vcu.edu.

RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 14, 2017 – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry Dean and Associate Vice President for Health Sciences, David C. Sarrett, D.M.D., M.S., has named Kim T. Isringhausen, B.S.D.H., R.D.H., M.P.H., assistant dean for Community and Collaborative Partnerships.

Isringhausen joined the faculty at VCU School of Dentistry in 1995. For seven years, she served as director of the Division of Dental Hygiene and as director of Service-Learning Programs for both dental and dental hygiene students. In 2011, she led the creation of a new department in the School of Dentistry, the Department of Oral Health Promotion and Community Outreach, and was appointed department chair in January 2012.

Isringhausen earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene from VCU School of Dentistry and was inducted into Sigma Phil Alpha, the national dental hygiene honor society. She continued her training and earned a Master of Public Health from VCU School of Medicine. Ms. Isringhausen also received specialized training through awarded teaching fellowships from the American Dental Education Association and VCU.

Currently, she is course director of a university designated service-learning course for fourth-year dental students. She also coordinates student involvement in community service, local and international outreach missions, and study abroad programs. She is the faculty advisor for the School’s Mission of Mercy projects.

Isringhausen serves on numerous committees in the school and the university. In addition, she holds membership in professional organizations including the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, Virginia Dental Hygienists’ Association, and the American Public Health Association. She holds board director positions with the American Dental Education Association and the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. She serves as Board Chair for the Piedmont Regional Dental Clinic.

Isringhausen’s teaching and leadership abilities have been recognized consistently by students and professional organizations. Some of her honors include the Dr. James H. Revere Jr. Outstanding Service Award, Excellence in Virginia Government Award (Public-Private Partnership Award), Women in Science, Dentistry and Medicine Professional Achievement Award, and Outstanding Service-Learning Collaboration in Higher Education by the Gulf South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Education in Higher Education.

About VCU and VCU Health Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 31,000 students in 225 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Seventy-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU’s 13 schools and one college. The VCU Health brand represents the health sciences schools of VCU, the VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Health System, which comprises VCU Medical Center (the only academic medical center and Level I trauma center in the region), Community Memorial Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, MCV Physicians and Virginia Premier Health Plan. For more, please visit www.vcu.edu and vcuhealth.org. For more about the VCU School of Dentistry, please visit www.dentistry.vcu.edu.

Congratulations to Dr. Esra Sahingur, associate professor, Department of Periodontics, for her grant award of $1.9 million from the National Institutes of Health to study the cause of periodontitis and search for new options for prevention and treatment.

Last week, Dean David Sarrett, D.M.D., M.S., partnered with the Piedmont Virginia Dental Health Foundation to honor the Harvest Foundation, which operates the Martinsville Community Dental Clinic, with the Platinum Award for Exceptional Leadership in Improving Oral Health. The Community Dental Clinic serves as one of the VCU School of Dentistry’s service-learning rotation sites where senior dental and dental hygiene students get the opportunity to put their training to good use for the benefit of the community.

The Community Dental Clinic treated more than 2,000 people last year, including 674 children. VCU School of Dentistry students, supervised by the clinic dentist and other volunteer dentists from the Martinsville area, treat a diverse patient base that may have different oral health issues than the patients students regularly treat at the school’s clinics. These students are immersed into the experience of a private practice or community dental practitioner, and they stay in housing provided by the Piedmont Virginia Dental Health Foundation, led by Dr. Mark Crabtree (D.D.S. ’85).

VCU students consistently rank the Community Dental Clinic at the top of their rotation sites, largely because of the support and kindness they receive from the community. To thank the school, its students and Dean Sarrett for their commitment to improving oral health in the community, Henry County and the city of Martinsville in turn recognized the school with a resolution plaque and a key to the city. Dean Sarrett will share these honors at an upcoming faculty meeting.

The VCU School of Dentistry plans to offer a Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in oral health research starting in Fall 2015. The programs will train students to conduct basic and translational research in oral health with a particular focus on

Cancer and developmental biology of the head and neck

Infection and immunology

Bioengineering, stem cells and new materials

Research will be carried out in the Philips Institute for Oral Health Research which brings together teams of scientists from the VCU schools of dentistry, medicine and engineering to address areas of unmet need in oral health.

M.S. applicants may find this program useful for gaining entry to professional degrees or advancing their academic positions.

Ph.D. applicants will be trained in methods, techniques and critical thinking skills to become the next generation of scientific leaders in biomedical and health related research fields.

On August 21st, Alyssa Gutierrez and I traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada for the 24th Annual Hispanic Dental Association Conference at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Leaving with nervous excitement and open minds, our goal was to learn as much about the organization, its mission and the process of founding a Hispanic Student Dental Association Chapter at VCU.

The first day began bright and early with personal introductions and a leadership training workshop. Our table included students from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Minnesota, Texas and California – all of whom were incredibly welcoming and willing to help us navigate the conference. During the workshop, we were introduced to the Lominger Competencies: 67 critical aspects of leadership that successful leaders demonstrate through their behaviors. They include qualities like approachability, compassion, timely decision making, delegation, managing diversity, ethics and values, learning on the fly, motivating others, perseverance, self-knowledge and work/life balance. Through small group discussions, we were able to closely examine a few of them and discuss ways that we, as leaders within our schools and communities, could modify our behaviors to better exhibit each characteristic.

We attended many other conference sessions throughout the weekend, but a few in particular were both informative and engaging. The “Panel on Professional Options” delivered an insightful look at post-doc life. We heard from dentists in private practices, group practices, specialties, public health clinics and academics. One main point echoed throughout the discussion: Dentistry will only feel like a job if you are not passionate about what you are doing or if you lose the sense of privilege associated with the amazing opportunity we are afforded to improve our patients’ lives and our communities. We also had a chance to hear from the HDA President, Dr. Tyrone Rodriguez. His raw honesty and sense of humor captivated us as he delivered a montage of the 10 characteristics of happy and successful dentists. To wrap up the conference, Alyssa and I sat in on the HSDA Chapter Officers Meeting. We took away many great ideas from our contemporaries and established contacts with national HDA representatives that will serve as great resources for us as we move forward with this process.

Truth be told, I was a bit unsure of how my presence at the HDA Conference would be taken. I speak Spanish and have the dark hair, dark eyes and olive complexion common to the ethnicity, but I am not Hispanic. Then, add in the fact that Alyssa Gutierrez, a proud cubana, was representing our school with me. How would I fit into this seemingly exclusive organization? Well, fortunately my fears were entirely unfounded. The conference was filled with dentists and dental students from all different backgrounds: Indians, Asians, African-Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics. The force uniting all of us was much bigger than our ethnic backgrounds, skin colors or first languages. We all connected with the four key cornerstones of the HDA, “S.E.A.L.:” service, education, advocacy and leadership. And, although I came into the weekend feeling like a bit of an outsider, I left feeling like I had found a new home, a new familia within dentistry.

If you are passionate about service, education, advocacy and leadership, then we hope you will consider joining us in our mission to found a Hispanic Student Dental Association Chapter at the VCU School of Dentistry!

For four years, Dr. Ruben Garcia, professor of dentistry, has traveled from Univille University Dental School in Joinville, Brazil to the VCU School of Dentistry in the name of research.

As a visiting faculty member, Garcia collaborates with Dr. Peter Moon, biomaterials director, Department of General Practice. Their research focuses on cement bonding to ceramic restorations, and they have made many discoveries in their four years of cooperative investigation.

This year, a significant increase in bond strength stability was measured after one year for ceramic bond surfaces treated with a hot oxidizing air plasma as performed at VCU after an initial hydrofluoric acid etch.

VCU and Univille University recently signed a memorandum of agreement establishing an exchange program through the VCU Office of Global Education. When Garcia visits again next year, he intends to bring several of his students to take part in the collaborative research study.

Dr. Matt Detar (D.D.S. ’07) of the Department of Endodontics and Dr. Erika Lentini of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry are about to graduate from their residency programs, and they now can add research awards to their résumés.

Detar received a prestigious research award from the American Association of Endodontists (AAE). During the AAE 2014 Annual Session, he presented his findings on the prevalence of intrapulpally cracked teeth and shared the first-ever classification system, of his design, for intrapulpally cracked teeth. Detar competed with many other residents and faculty to receive one of the 10 monetary awards.

Lentini won the poster presentation at the VCU School of Dentistry 2014 Research and Clinic Day for her landmark work – the first ever pediatric/endodontic clinical research study to be conducted at VCU. Lentini collaborated with another graduating endodontic resident, Dr. Claudia Colorado, to conduct a clinical study that merged the fields of endodontics and pediatric dentistry. She answered the clinical question of the prevalence of vital teeth with radiolucencies in the pediatric population, a heretofore undocumented clinical presentation.

Dr. Karan Replogle, director, Advanced Education Program in Endodontics, served as the research mentor and principal investigator for Detar’s and Lentini’s projects. Dr. Patrice Wunsch, director, Advanced Education Program in Pediatric Dentistry, collaborated with Replogle to form a clinical and research partnership between the two departments.

“These studies represent the alliance that has been formed between the Department of Endodontics and the Department of Pediatric Dentistry,” shared Replogle. “It is our goal to continue to investigate interdisciplinary clinical questions together.”

This spring, the VCU School of Dentistry hosted four visiting dental faculty members from the Stomatological Hospital in Qingdao, China.

Drs. Berry Yang, Judy Zhu, Tom Tang and Ben Zen visited Richmond, Va., in April and May to observe in the clinic and attend lectures. Together, their specialties run the gamut: general dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics and pediatric dentistry, respectively. During their stay, they had the opportunity to practice their English language skills through interactions with students and faculty – and some of our students had the opportunity to practice their Mandarin!

This visit helped to lay the groundwork for a larger exchange program that will give for two dental students an opportunity to travel to China and perform dentistry at the Stomatological Hospital later this year.

Dr. Steven J. Lindauer, professor and chair, Department of Orthodontics, led the effort to develop this global initiative, building off of his department’s existing global exchange program that sends residents to Italy. Lindauer’s successful proposal for the VCU Quest Global Impact Awards, “School of Dentistry Study Abroad Program in Qingdao, China,” has provided critical funding to support the program.

The exchange program with China has been commended by the university for its “involvement of VCU students in high-impact international research and learning, strong partner institution support and close fit with academic unit priorities.”

We look forward to many more successful visits to and from Qingdao, China in the future.

The 2014 MCV Campus Reunion took place April 11 through April 13 in Richmond, Va., and nearly 500 alumni and family members converged on campus to celebrate the occasion.

The tradition of reunion giving has become an integral facet of the MCV Campus Reunion. Generous donors over the years have supported their alma mater, its students and other important initiatives to the tune of millions through scholarships and other funds.

This year’s Reunion classes generously gave and pledged contributions exceeding $535,000. Alumni banded together with their classmates to select class fundraising causes, and many classes this year chose to honor the memory of the classmates they have lost.

Three new endowed memorial scholarships were created through reunion giving: the Class of 1969 Memorial Scholarship, the Dr. William Descovich Memorial Scholarship and the Dr. Randal W. King Memorial Scholarship. These funds will live in perpetuity to help deserving students defray the mounting costs of their dental education while immortalizing the alumni for whom the funds are named.

Dr. William J. Descovich (D.D.S. ’94) passed away in 2005. He was married to Carole A. Descovich, a 1991 graduate of the VCU School of Nursing. Together, they had three children.

Dr. Randal W. King (D.D.S. ’89) owned a dental practice in Midlothian, Va., for 17 years until his death in 2011. He is survived by his wife Tanya King (M.B.A. ’87, M.H.A. ’90) and their two sons.

The Class of 1969 chose to remember all of their classmates who have passed away through their memorial scholarship.

Together, the D.D.S. classes of 1969, 1989 and 1994 gave and pledged more than $100,000 to remember their friends and support students in their dreams to become dentists.